Sep 19, 2011

Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella and spinach topped with a turkey meat sauce. Here's a great way to sneak spinach onto your kids' plate!

This recipe just got a makeover. Some of you may have seen this in the archives, or have even made this before, today I decided to give it a face-lift with new photos and address some issues some people had with not having enough stuffing for the shells.

These are very satisfying, three are more than enough to fill you up, or two with a salad on the side. A perfect dish if you have company as this makes a large amount, or you can bake half and freeze the rest for another night.

Boil water and cook shells according to package directions, make sure to make them al dente.

Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in oil. Add turkey and salt and brown until cooked, breaking up in small pieces. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.

Once shells are cooked and cool, fill each shell with (about 2 heaping tbsp) cheese mixture and place on a large baking dish, or two smaller dishes, covering the bottom of the dish with a little sauce.

Top shells with half of the sauce, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover foil and bake 5 more minutes.

I am so excited to have just found your blog!!!!! I began WW almost 4 weeks ago and have been really struggeling finding good recipes. My mouth is drooling and my mind is going crazy with all the goodies I see here. So excited!!

I made this for dinner last night. It was so delicious! I did use the turkey and it was yummy. But, I don't think the recipe needs it (and I'm not much of a meat eater, anyway). So, next time I make these shells (and believe me, there will be a next time!) I will probably leave out the meat. Simply to cut down on the calories (in other words, so I can eat more shells!). Thanks for the awesome recipe.

Wow, this is delicious! Wonderful flavor. Will be a definite repeat recipe in my kitchen. I did freeze 1/2 the batch. If I didn't have weigh in tomorrow, I would of eaten more than three. Thank you for sharing another great recipe! Carrie

I LOVE this meal and so does DH!! He actually requested it this weekend! I found the recipe very easy to follow. I did use FF cottage cheese instead of ricotta (b/c I don't like ricotta) and I used a jar sauce instead of making my own but it was delish. Three shells may not sound like a lot but they are actually quite filling. This recipe made plenty for leftovers, which I think tasted even better after sitting in the fridge overnight! Thanks again!!

Made this last night and it was a HUGE success in my house. The kids loved it and my picky eater did not even complain about the spinach in it - he gobbled it right up! This will be a staple in our house!

Can anyone tell me if they should be frozen before baked, or after? Any advice for reheating? I am as beginner of a cook as you can get... And on my first week of ww... Can't wait to make this tomorrow!

I just found your website and this recipe while searching for WW recipes. I made it tonight and it was a huge hit! I was shocked that it was so low in points and so full of flavor! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

The filling comes out to 5.75 cups, or 92 tablespoons. If you have 35 shells, then you should fill each with 2.6 tablespoons to have enough for each. It's possible a few broke when I photographed these, can't remember but this will give you a more accurate measurement. Also, it's possible different brands may be sized differently.

Made this for dinner tonight and OMG it was so delicious!!! My husband and 3 year old LOVED them. I ended up with 25 as well, but my shells were pretty full. Can't wait to make the Chicken Francese tomorrow! You have regenerated my WW journey!! THANKS

I just made these and they look great. I didn't do the sauce from this recipe since I had come left over from your turkey meatball recipe from last week, so I'll use that. After all the broken shells, I got 27 shells, and used all the filling, and they don't quite look as full as yours (I also used barila). When I did out just the shell recipe on WW's recipe builder (using 27 shells) it comes out to 2 points for each shell (still amazing!) and then i'll do one point for half a cup of the sauce. Thanks for an amazing recipe!

These have to be the best tasting pasta dish I've ever had. I ate them for dinner all week long and never got tired of them! Haha. I was very sad when the aluminum foil started melting onto the shells and I had to throw out about 1/4 of all that I made. Either way, these will be a regular occurrence in this household!

Great recipe and I made the entire thing for me and my son and then put it in freezable containers by portion. When I want this pasta I take the dish out of the freezer the night before and when I get home I pop it right in the microwave to reheat, DELISH!!!! Add a salad for a 5 min dinner!

I'm going to make this to bring to a friend who's a new mom. I'm sure she'll appreciate having something easily reheatable on hand. Would you suggest I fully cook the recipe, or give it to her prior to baking and just include the instructions for baking time/temp?

I'm new to your website, and so far I love what I'm seeing and cannot wait to have a taste testing party with my friends. My only question is that I have a chunck of pecorino romano cheese, and I was wondering what would go well with it?

I've made this a few times and the whole family LOVES it!The first time I made it all of my shells broke when I boiled them so I just added them to the spinach/ricotta mix - and now we always have it this way. Sure beats stuffing shells - I'm lazy!

This was VERY good. I made with ground chicken breast. I used sweet basil and added 3 packets of splenda to have a little sweeter sauce for a change up. It was soooooo good. Gonna try freezing a couple serving to see how it fares...

I love, love, love this dish! I trick I learned is to NOT boil the noodles. Make it ahead of time and cover it in all the sauce. Cover, and put in the fridge while you are at work, or for at least four hours. Perfect pasta without trying to wrangle with wet, slippery noodles!

Also, putting the cheese mixture into a baggie and snipping off a tiny piece of the corner makes filling the shells a breeze. You just stick the open corner of the baggie into the shell and squeeze.

ANOTHER hit of a recipe!! It does take some time for prep so not a recipe to use in a rush....but really worth it! Only change I made was that I made it with a jar of tomato basil pasta sauce that I had already opened so I just added a can of tomato sauce to that.....along with fresh basil! It's one of those recipes you can do that and still have it taste awesome.

I do think the secret to the cheese mixture for the shells is to use real Parmesan or Parmesan Reggiano and not the dried stuff shaken from the can. But then I think that of any Italian recipe. :)

Both my husband and son have requested I keep this recipe in the "favorites" file. THANKS GINA!!

Made this last night and it came out really tasty! Mine were a little drier sauce-wise than yours, but that was because I only had a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and didn't bother to open another. Still great though! I also reserved some of the shredded mozz and sprinkled it on top during the last 5 minutes of uncovered baking for that gooey deliciousness. I calculated 4 shells at 11pp+, which is perfect for dinner in my opinion!

I'll definitely be making this again, but may put a twist on it by substituting mushrooms for the spinach and making the sauce a little spicier - arrabiata style (Trader Joe's makes a great one) for an extra kick. Thanks and can't wait to try another recipe!

I made this for my fam (I'm a teenager, not a mom!) and it was DE-lish! We used fat free ricotta cheese (which lowered calories but not the taste!) and used san giorgio jumbo shells which made 42 shells and had plenty of stuffing. We also didn't use the turkey and each shell came out to 68 calories! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe!

Gina - I have started to try some of your recipes this week and they have all been wonderful! I just finished cleaning up after this meal and I had to leave a comment. We sat down to dinner and my hubby took a look at his plate, but didn't say anything, then he took a bite and he got this little grin on his face and says to me "Nope, this one is definitely NOT weight watchers!" I about died laughing trying to convince him that yes, it was! While he was on his second plate I asked him if he minded the spinach... "what spinach???" LOL!!

Gina - Was wondering about the size can you used for the sauce recipe. I can get Tuttorosso in my grocery stores but only find either a 28 oz. can or 35 oz. can - not 32 oz. Which you say I should use? Should I just take 3 oz out of the 35 oz can and do that? Just want to make sure I get it right :)!! Can't wait to make this!!

Thanks Gina! Just put them together now and can't wait to try. I did use the Barilla shells but only was able to fill 20 of them, at 2 TBSP per shell....hmmmmm. Can't wait to eat them though - they look and smell fantastic!

Thanks for this recipe! I make an almost the same version but use the ready cook cannelloni shells. You don't have to boil them and you can stuff them when they are hard and they just cook in the oven. I freeze it in smaller portion sizes for my husband and I. When we want it, we just thaw it and book! Voila!Thanks Gina for the amazing recipes. I just stumbled on your site and have been telling all of my friends!!

Oh, this looks fantastic! I am vegetarian, so I will be making this with your Skinnytaste Marinara Sauce Gina. I know I sound like a broken record, but I LOVE you and your recipes Gina. You rock girl!! : )

These are also really good when you substitute Portabello mushroom caps for the pasta shells. Roast the caps in the oven @ 400 while you make everything else. Drain any liquid in the caps, spoon some sauce into caps, add cheese mixture and more sauce and return to oven until hot and bubbly.

Made this tonight, my 10 and 11 yo gobbled it up! would be even lighter w fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta and would not taste any different (although I used the ricotta) Loved it! New to your blog, Thank you!! it's a real find!

I have been making these for years! A couple of things I do differently: I don't add meat to the sauce -- so it is a vegetarian dish, I also do not add an egg to the filling. These two changes saves fat and calories!

Gina, I noticed that you said this would freeze well. Any chance you could list other recipes of yours that also freeze well? Maybe a link on your "Recipes Index" page? I'm 5 weeks from the end of my second pregnancy and would like to make and freeze some meals for after baby's birth. I'm pretty sure dinner will be take-out or really boring, otherwise. Please help, if you can. Thanks.

Mmm, comfort food... Perfect for the cooler fall weather! My momma never used to make stuffed shells so it was always a treat whenever I would go over to my friends house for dinner because her mom made the best ones :D

I love this recipe. I make it often for my WW daughter who lives four hours away. I make up the sauce, cool it, and put it in ice cube trays to freeze. Then I package 3 prepared shells in a baggy and drop in 3 frozen sauce cubes. She heats them in the microwave and it gives her a yummy and quick dinner.

Made this last night and it was AMAZING!! I added a good bit of italian seasoning to the tomatoes for more flavor. I had a good bit of sauce left, so now I have sauce for spaghetti. I think this is my favorite recipe from you so far!!!

I wondered the same thing.. Here's what I found on the National Pasta Association website "Freezing Pasta: The best pasta shapes for freezing are those that are used in baked recipes, such as: lasagne, jumbo shells, ziti and manicotti. You'll have better results if you prepare the recipe and freeze it before baking. To bake, thaw the dish to room temperature and bake as the recipe directs."

I have never tried it, but I will be trying it tonight with these. I will bake some and freeze the rest! :)

I made these last night, but what I've learned from a friend of mine who had made these before is that the best method to freezing these is to put them in the pan WITHOUT the sauce (so just the shells stuffed with the filling) and then freeze them. When you're ready to eat, defrost them, and then when you're ready to cook, make the sauce pour some on top, put them in the oven, cook like normal, and then top with more sauce to your preference when they're done. they come out EXCELLENT! love them!

Hi Gina!I have a question I'm hoping you can answer. It entails figuring out the math for a homemade vegan ricotta cheese, as I couldn't find any ANYWHERE. I found a recipe that is made from tofu, olive oil, garlic, and herbs. It's a large portion, and I just cannot seem to figure out how it will affect the point value of your recipe that's 9 pts. 32 oz. of the tofu plus the half cup of olive oil for the recipe is 48 pts. Your 9 pt. recipe uses 16 oz. of part skim ricotta. Seeing as that's half the vegan ricotta recipe = 24 pts. for the whole recipe. But seeing that I don't know the other individual points that make up your recipe, I'm having a hard time. I know it might be a lot of work for you to figure it out, but I am hoping it won't be since your such a pro at this. Please get back to me as soon as you have a moment, as I'm making the recipe tonight and freezing it, but I would like to eat it soon :)Thank you so much!Amy

Another winner Gina! Flavor was awesome and my 10-year-old had some too, which is quite a compliment to you! My sauce was thicker than yours in the picture- I may use less turkey next time or more tomatoes. Loved this! And I love how you have photos of each step! Thank you! ~Amy :)

We made this for Christmas Eve, and it was a big hit. I used 20 ounces of spinach (two boxes), and filled 25 shells. Three shells was a nice serving size, served with mixed vegetables, a salad, and garlic bread. We'll definitely make this again. Thanks!

I made this last night for some friends of mine, and everybody LOVED it. Since none of us are on WW, I didn't mind straying a little from the recipe. I used turkey Italian sausage instead of turkey and added an extra egg to the ricotta mixture, since it seemed really dry. My friends asked for the recipe so they can make it this week for themselves!

This was amazing! I made this for dinner on Saturday night and we (there are only two of us) have had enough leftovers for a long time! :) Unfortunately, my grocery store was out of Ricotta, so I substituted 4-blend Italian cheese and it came out JUST fine. Again, my husband loved this and devoured it instantly!

I have made these many times. They are delicious. I fill all of the shells and then place them on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer for a few hours until the shells are individually frozen. Then I place all of the shells in a bag. I usually freeze the sauce in small 4-6 oz containers. This allows me to take a a single serving or anywhere in between. Happy cooking and eating.

Freezing Tip!! I have read in numerous places that you should freeze pasta dishes before you bake them, then thaw in the fridge before you bake them.

Here's was is on the National Pasta Association website "Freezing Pasta: The best pasta shapes for freezing are those that are used in baked recipes, such as: lasagne, jumbo shells, ziti and manicotti. You'll have better results if you prepare the recipe and freeze it before baking. To bake, thaw the dish to room temperature and bake as the recipe directs."

This recipe sounds awesome and I can't wait to make it tonight. I will be baking and eating some and freezing the rest!

I know this might be a silly question, but I am just starting to learn how to cook and I love all the recipes that are on here but I don't know what temperature to put the oven at when it comes to baking. All of the recipes say to bake for a certain amount of time but is there a particular temperature?!?! I need help! :)

This was fantastic! It made soooo much! I only changed one thing. My husband swears he doesn't like ricotta cheese even tho he unknowingly eats it all the time. So I used 1 cup of ricotta cheese & half a block of fat free cream cheese. My husband & kids LOVED it! And they're hard to please! I will def be making this again!

This is my second time making this recipe and I used a very helpful tip from my 16 year old son - I used my cake decorating bag with a thick nozzle to fill the shells and it worked fantastically. No mess!

I made a very similar recipe from Pinterest. I can't wait to try this healthier variation. My husband likes a little kick to his food, so I'll probably add some red pepper flakes & maybe some hot sauce to this for a little extra somethin'. The filling is pretty much the same as the other recipe I have & it was easy to take a spoon & put it in the shells. Thanks for this healthy make over!

I made this recipe yesterday and my husband & 4 year old could not stop raving over how delicious this was, especially my 4 year old! This is definitely going on my list of regular meals, which is full of other skinnytaste recipes. My family & I love your site!

Just made these and they were delish. Used Gluten Free Tinkyada Jumbo shells and they worked perfectly. Very filling like you said even though I didn't think 3 would be enough. Will definitely make this again. Even my pasta-hating husband loved these!

I know its too late of a response, but I always thought that homemade ceaser salad (dressing and all) would be super great with this, or even a raspberry vinagrette would be good. What did you end up making with it?

I made this in 2 smaller pans and froze one uncooked. If you thaw it and then cook as directed, the frozen one turns out great. You can also freeze after cooking into portion sizes, and this also works out well. I added some chopped mushrooms and red pepper to the sauce (no more points?). I also sprinkled a little more cheese on top before cooking (more points). I think some chicken or turkey sausage would add zip and might try that next time.